Arsenal anniversaries for 2 June
28 June 1913: Arsenal gained possession of the Gillespie Road site for the first time thus leaving them just 10 weeks before the first match of the season to make the ground ready. There is no record of the club making any arrangements to have matches played elsewhere in the event of the ground not being ready. I have no record of when the stadium was first called “Highbury” but it appears that from the off, local supporters called it Highbury, to distinguish the ground from the Manor Ground in Plumstead, which had been vacated at the end of the previous season.
28 June 1913: Joseph Lievesley signed from Sheffield Utd who had bought him after having been beaten by Southern League Swindon, for whom he played. Swindon’s victory in 1908 was one of the great cup shocks of the era; Lievesley went on to play in the FA’s tour of South Africa in 1910.
28 June 1919: Five years and a day after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand the Treaty of Versailles was signed, finally confirming the end of hostilities.
28 June 1921: Reg Boreham joined Arsenal from Wycombe. Although Bernard Joy said of him “His sparkling displays nearly gave him an England professional cap as well as amateur ones,” we know little of him save for the fact that he played 53 games and scored 18 goals for Arsenal. See also here.
28 June 1922: Archie Roe signed from Castleford Town; one of eight players who made his first appearance for Arsenal in the 1922/3 season. However he only had four games for Arsenal before moving on.
28 June 1923: Harry Woods joined Arsenal from Newcastle U. He served his country in the Tank Corps in France during the war, and then played for South Shields before moving to Newcastle United in January 1922 for £2600 – a fee that for a few months was the world record.
28 June 1928: John “Alex” Mackie transferred to Portsmouth for whom he made 257 appearances over seven seasons, including playing in the FA Cup finals of 1929 and 1934.
28 June 1929: Stan Charlton born in Exeter. His father played for Exeter and Crystal Palace while Stan junior started his career with Bromley, moved to Leyton Orient in 1952, then Arsenal and played 80 league games for the club.
28 June 1998: France v Paraguay. Manu Petit played in the first ever “golden goal” game in the world cup. It was an experiment that was quickly abandoned.
28 June 2000: Davor Suker joined WHU on a free transfer. He later moved to 1860 Munich, and later became president of the Croatian Football Federation and worked as a football agent. In 2015, Croatian Journalists’ Association accused Suker, then the president of the Croatian Football Federation of preventing freedom of information and for physically blocking journalists from reporting and doing their work
28 June 2013: Sanchez Watt joined Colchester after a period on loan. It was the last of six loan deals during his time at Arsenal and he went on to be a regular player for Colchester. In 2018/19 he played for Hemel Hempstead.
28 June 2020: After the prolonged break due to the corona virus Arsenal played their fourth catch up match as clubs tried to finish the 2019/20 season. Having lost the first two games after resumption but won the third, Arsenal won again, beating Sheffield United 1-2 away in the FA Cup.
Elsewhere…
The 1919 Affair: How Arsenal were promoted to the first division – the only complete and detailed history of Arsenal’s election.
Day by Day the videos – An Arsenal video for (almost) every day of the year in order.
Day by Day the stories– a key moment in Arsenal and footballing history for each day of the year
Henry Norris at the Arsenal: There is a full index to the series here correcting 100 years of rumour and false allegations.
Arsenal in the 1930s: The most comprehensive series on the decade ever
Arsenal in the 1970s: Every match and every intrigue reviewed in detail.